Tesla's Elon Musk buys 007's sub to make it real

5:02 AM,
Oct. 22, 2013

Written by

Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has bought the Lotus submarine car prop from a 1970s James Bond movie and plans to convert it into a real car that transforms into a sub -- with the benefit of a Tesla electric powerplant.

Musk, the eclectic billionaire who is chief executive of both the electric car company and rocket maker SpaceX, confirms he bought the car at an auction last month.

"It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and have it transform into a submarine underwater," says Musk in an email response to a ...